Patterned laser treatment

Abstract

Patterned laser treatment of the retina is provided. A visible alignment pattern having at least two separated spots is projected onto the retina. By triggering a laser subsystem, doses of laser energy are automatically provided to at least two treatment locations coincident with the alignment spots. All of the doses of laser energy may be delivered in less than about 1 second, which is a typical eye fixation time. A scanner can be used to sequentially move an alignment beam from spot to spot on the retina and to move a treatment laser beam from location to location on the retina.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A system for laser treatment of a retina of a patient, the system comprising:
 a) a treatment source producing a treatment beam; 
 b) one or more scanning elements configured to direct the treatment beam to various positions on the retina of a patient; and 
 c) a processor operatively coupled to the one or more scanning elements, the processor configured to: 
 1) display a visible alignment pattern that encloses a plurality of treatment locations within the visible alignment pattern; and 
 2) deliver, responsive to an input from an operator and within a time period of about one second, sequential doses of laser energy to at least two of the treatment locations enclosed within the visible alignment pattern. 
 
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the visible alignment pattern is a rectangular pattern. 
     
     
       3. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the visible alignment pattern is a circular pattern. 
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the visible alignment pattern is an elliptical pattern. 
     
     
       5. A system for laser treatment of tissue of a patient, the system comprising:
 a. a treatment source producing a treatment beam; 
 b. one or more scanning elements configured to direct the treatment beam to various positions on tissue of a patient; and 
 c. a processor operatively coupled to the one or more scanning elements, the processor configured to: 
 1) display a visible alignment pattern comprising a plurality of separate treatment locations on the tissue; and 
 2) deliver, responsive to an input from an operator and within a time period of about one second, sequential doses of laser energy to at least two of the treatment locations. 
 
     
     
       6. The system of  claim 5 , wherein the treatment beam has a substantially nonvisible wavelength. 
     
     
       7. The system of  claim 5 , further comprising a multimode optical fiber configured to guide an alignment beam and the treatment beam to the one or more scanning elements. 
     
     
       8. The system of  claim 5 , wherein the tissue comprises a retina, and further comprising a retina imager configured to observe the retina. 
     
     
       9. The system of  claim 8 , wherein the retina imager comprises a biomicroscope, a slit lamp, a video display, or an optical image inverter. 
     
     
       10. The system of  claim 8 , further comprising a database configured to record observations obtained from the retina imager. 
     
     
       11. The system of  claim 5 , wherein the alignment pattern is a predefined alignment pattern. 
     
     
       12. The system of  claim 11 , wherein the predefined alignment pattern is selected from the group consisting of a quadrant pattern, a circular pattern, an elliptical pattern, a donut pattern, a rectangular pattern, an arc pattern, an annular arc pattern, and a user-defined pattern. 
     
     
       13. The system of  claim 11 , wherein the predefined alignment pattern has an adjustable scale and an adjustable orientation. 
     
     
       14. The system of  claim 5 , wherein the alignment pattern further comprises an exclusion zone, within which none of the at least two separate treatment locations is disposed. 
     
     
       15. The system of  claim 14 , wherein the tissue comprises a retina, and wherein the exclusion zone may be aligned to the fovea of the retina. 
     
     
       16. The system of  claim 14 , wherein the tissue comprises a retina, and wherein the exclusion zone may be aligned to a tear within the retina. 
     
     
       17. The system of  claim 5 , wherein the alignment pattern further comprises a fixation spot which is not aligned with any of the at least two separate treatment locations. 
     
     
       18. The system of  claim 17 , wherein the tissue comprises a retina, and wherein the fixation spot may be aligned to the fovea of the retina. 
     
     
       19. The system of  claim 17 , wherein the tissue comprises a retina, and wherein the fixation spot is configured to be perceived as blinking by the patient. 
     
     
       20. The system of  claim 5 , wherein the tissue comprises a retina, wherein the alignment pattern further comprises a plurality of fixation spots which are not aligned with any of the at least two separate treatment locations, and wherein the plurality of fixation spots is configured to be perceived as other than circular by the patient. 
     
     
       21. The system of  claim 5 , wherein the one or more scanning elements are configured to direct the treatment beam with one or more controllably actuated deflections. 
     
     
       22. The system of  claim 21 , wherein the one or more scanning elements are galvanically or piezoelectrically actuated. 
     
     
       23. The system of  claim 21 , further comprising a treatment beam shutter operatively coupled to the processor and configured to controllably block the treatment beam. 
     
     
       24. The system of  claim 21 , further comprising an alignment beam shutter operatively coupled to the processor and configured to controllably block an alignment beam that provides the alignment pattern. 
     
     
       25. The system of  claim 24 , further comprising adjustment optics configured to alter a size of the alignment beam delivered to the tissue. 
     
     
       26. The system of  claim 5 , further comprising adjustment optics configured to alter a size of the treatment beam delivered to the tissue. 
     
     
       27. The system of  claim 5 , wherein the input from the operator comprises a single triggering of the processor to controllably shutter the treatment beam. 
     
     
       28. The system of  claim 5 , wherein the doses of laser energy comprise pulses having a pulse duration between 10 ms and 50 ms. 
     
     
       29. The system of  claim 5 , wherein the doses of laser energy comprise pulses having a pulse duration of 50 ms or less.